Monkey Puzzle

小猴子找妈妈

Monkey Puzzle - Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler 

“I’ve lost my mum!”

“Hush, little monkey, don’t you cry. I’ll help you you find her”, said Butterfly. “Let’s have a think. How big is she?”

“She’s big”, said the monkey. “Bigger than me.”

“Bigger than you? Then I’ve seen your mum! Come, little monkey, come, come, come.”

“No, no, no! That’s an elephant. My mum isn’t a great grey hunk. She hasn’t got tusks or a curly trunk. She doesn’t have great thick, baggy knees. And anyway, her tail coils round trees.”

“She coils round trees? Then she’s very near! Quick. Little money! She’s over there.”

“No, no, no! That’s a snake. Mum doesn’t look a bit like this. She doesn’t slither about and hiss. She doesn’t curl round a nest of eggs. And anyway, my mum’s got more legs.”

“It’s legs we’re looking for now, you say. I know where she is, then. Come this way!”

“No, no, no! That’s a spider. Mum isn’t black and hairy and fat. She’s not got so many legs as that! She’s rather eat fruit than swallow a fly, and anyway she lives in the treetops, way up high.”

“She lives in the trees? You should have said ! Your mummy’ hiding above your head.”

“No, no, no! That’s a parrot. Mum’s got a nose and not a beak. She doesn’t squawk  and squabble and shriek. She doesn’t have claws or feathery wings. And anyway, my mum leaps and springs.”

“Aha! I’ve got it! She leaps about? She’s just round the corner, without a doubt.”

“No, no, no! That’s a frog! Butterfly, butterfly, please don’t joke! Mum’s not green and she doesn’t croak. She’s not all slimy. Oh dear, what a muddle! She’s brown and furry, and nice to cuddle.”

“Brown fur - why didn’t you tell me so? We’ll find her in no time - off we go.”

“No, no, no! That’s a bat! Why do you keep on getting it wrong? Mum doesn’t sleep the whole day long. I told you , she’s got no wings at all, ok and anyway, she’s not nearly so small!”

“Your mum’s not little? Now let me think. She’s down by the river, having a drink!”

“No, no, no! That’s the elephant again! Butterfly, butterfly, can’t you see? None of these creatures look like me!”

“You never told me she looks like you!”

“Of course I din’t. I thought you knew!”

“Well, I didn’t know. I couldn’t! You see… None of my babies looks like me. So she looks like you? Well, if that’s the case. We’ll soon discover her hiding place.”

“No, no, no! That’s my dad!”

“Come on, little monkey, come, come, come. It’s time I took you home to your…MUM!”

- The End-